Special Events organized or cosponsored by the CDC may include occasional lectures, informal presentations, film screenings, exhibition announcements, and social events benefiting members of the UNLV and Southern Nevada community. If you know about a relevant upcoming event or wish to suggest one to the CDC board, please contact Paul Werth, special events coordinator.


Webinar on the Historical Context of the War in Ukraine took place on Monday, February 28, 2022. Dr. Michelle Kuezni moderated the discussion. The panelists inlcuded members of UNLV faculty -- Professors Gregory Brown, Department of History; Christian Jensen, Department of Political Science; Michele Kuezni, Department of Political Science; Dmitri Shalin, Department of Sociology; and Paul Werth, Department of History.  The video recording of the webinar can be accessed on this page. You may need to copy the following link into the browser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7KQm9Kc9E0.

Open Class on the Russian Invasion of Ukraine offfered in a virtual format by Dr. Dmitri Shalin and cohosted by Dr. Paul Werth.  The event was open to the public, and it it l took place on Thursday, February 24, 2022.  The webinar video recording can be accessed through this link.  The Center for Democratic Culture issued a call to action in support of people affected by the war.

Timur Shaov Will Give a Concert in Las Vegas on October 10, 2021.Mr. Shaov is a renown Russian bard and contributor to the Russian Art and Culture Festival series. Timur Shaov will present the materiral from his album "Weather Center's Hidden Knowledge."  A former country doctor, Mr. Shaov developed a wide following in Russia where he distinguished himself with his down-to-earth lyrics and inventive music which earned him a "Golden Ostap" award. Mr. Shaov performed in Europe, United Sates, and Israel for ever increasing audiences, and he gave a concert in Las Vegas that added to his fun base and won him accolades from local observers.  The new performance will take place 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, October 10, 2021, at Rainbow Library, 3150 N. Buffalo Dr.  To reserve a seat, call 702-376-1141.

Sixteenth International Conference on Gambling and Risk Taking. In collaboration with the International Gaming Institute, the Center for Democratic Culture took part in planning of the 16th International Conference on Gambling & Risk Taking. The conference is held on June 6-10, 2016 at The Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.  This gathering is the largest and most globally diverse event if its kind.  CDC associates organized and moderated two special sessions for this International Congress: "Las Vegas as a Gaming Metropolis: Historical and Contemporary Perspectives" and "The Changing Landscapes of Risk Taking: Erving Goffman, Fatefulness, and the Bureaucratization of Everyday Life." Proceedings of these panels have been recorded and are now available in the CDC Video Library.

Lecture by Dr. Nathan Kelerman on Holocaust Trauma. Center for Democratic Culture, Department of Sociology, Department of History, Department of Psychology, Department of Political Science, Department of Educational Psychology & Higher Education, Generatons of the Hoash International, and World Generation of Jerwish Child Survivors of the Holocaust and Descendents sponsor a presentation by Dr. Nathan Kellerman, a former executive director and chief psychologist of AMCHA, an Israeli-based international organization providing support to Holocaust survivors and their descendants. Its main goal is to create a framework for mutual aid, memory processing and grief resolution, as well as a place where survivors and their families could feel at home and be understood. Extensive research has shown that many Holocaust survivors still struggle with the acute distress from the traumatic events they experienced and that their anxieties can be passed on through generations.  Drawing on the latest research in this area, Dr. Kellermann shows the cumulative effect of psychological, cultural, biological and family factors behind the transgenerational transmission of trauma. He uses his extensive experience with psycho- and sociodrama to show the effective ways of dealing with the posttraumatic stress disorder.  Dr. Kellermann is author of numerous studies, including the acclaimed book, Holocaust Trauma: Psychological Effects and Treatment, where he surveys the leading theories in this area and assesses the most promising treatment alternatives. Dr. Kellermann has lectured on Holocaust trauma at the International School for Holocaust Studies in Yad Vashem. He was the recipient of the 1993 Zerka Moreno award and the 1998-2000 chair of the psychodrama-section of the International Association for Group Psychotherapy and Group Processes. The presentation will take place on Monday, November 4, 2013, 12 Noon – 1:30 p.m., at the Marjorie Barrick Museum Auditorium. Professor Simon Gottschalk will moderate the discussion.  For further information please contact Dr. Dmitri Shalin, 702-896-5252.

Sociology Department and Center for Democratic Culture sponsor a special Downtown Sociology Event “In Search of Las Vegas: Sociological Investigations beyond the Neon.”  The event will take place May 15, 2013, 6:00-8:00PM, COLAB Las Vegas @ Art Square, 1025 S. 1st Street No. 170. Las Vegas, Nevada 89101.  Las Vegas is famous, and infamous, for repeatedly reinventing itself.  The continual changes in tourism, architecture, and population, however, do not occur by the fiat of an invisible neon hand.  Instead, the people who live, work, and play in Las Vegas constitute a dynamic and paradoxical culture that is entrepreneurial and nostalgic, liberal and conservative, honest and illusory.  To find out what happens in Las Vegas, we need to search for it first.  This exhibit is comprised of sociological studies about urban culture and urban demography in Las Vegas.  The exhibit features visual representations of research conducted by University of Nevada, Las Vegas graduate students from Dr. Michael Ian Borer’s Urban Field Methods Seminar (SOC 757) and Dr. Christie Batson’s Urban Demography and Population Studies Seminar (SOC 717).  Though the search for Las Vegas remains, especially as the city’s culture, population, and built environment continue to morph, these studies provide a firm base to foster dialogues about what Las Vegas was, what it is, and what it can become.  A Keynote Address will be given by local historian and curator Brian Paco Alvarez in the Cockroach Theatre to kick off the event and exhibit.

Center for Democratic Culture and Department of Sociology sponsor a presentation by Dr. Viktoria Sukovata, Fulbright Scholar, University of California at Los Angeles and Professor of Kharkiv National University, Ukraine.  The presentation will take place on Tuesday, March 6, 2012, 11:45-1:00 p.m., at the Sociology Department conference room CBC-B-255A.  Dr. Sukovata will speak about “The Gay and Lesbian Rights Movement in Postsoviet Societies.”  Viktoriya Sukovata is author of numerous publications in the area of cultural studies and gender research.  Her most recent book is Face of Other:  Body of “Other” in Cultural Anthropology."

William S. Boyd School of Law, and International Law Society, and UNLV Center for Democratic Culture will sponsor a public forum on “The Relationship between the Judiciary and Executive Branches of Government in Ukraine.” The panel will feature judges from different regions of Ukraine and scholars from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The panel discussion will be facilitated by the Hon. Lloyd George, United States District Judge for the District of Nevada, Dmitri Shalin, Director of the UNLV Center for Democratic Culture, and Martin Geer, Professor, William S. Boyd School of Law. The Ukrainian delegation includes judges from the Appellate and State Courts of Ukraine, as well as professors from the Academy of Judges of Ukraine. Their visit to Las Vegas is sponsored by the Open World Rule of Law Program of the American Councils for International Education and is hosted by the Hon. Lloyd George. The event takes place on Wednesday, September 14, 2011, 12:30 p.m., Thomas & Mack Moot Court at the Boyd School of Law. Members of the law school community are cordially invited to take part in the panel.

Center for Democratic Culture, Department of Sociology, and College of LIberal Arts are cosponsoring an ASA reception honoring friends of UNLV sociology and participants in the regional spotlight sessions.  The reception is scheduled for Sunday, August 21, 8:00-10-00 p.m., at Caesar’s Palace, Roman 1 & 2.

UNLV Department of Sociology and Center for Democratic Culture will organize seven special sessions spotlighting our state and the city at the Annual Meeting of American Sociological Association, http://strata.unlv.edu/docs/ASA%20Regional%20Spotight%20Sessions-2011.pdf.  In conjunction with the ASA meeting, there will be several satellite conferences, some hosted on UNLV campus, including the ones by the Society for the Study of Social Problems, http://www.sssp1.org/index.cfm/m/424, Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction, http://www.espach.salford.ac.uk/sssi/sssi2011.php, ASA Collective Behavior/Social Movement section, http://www2.asanet.org/sectioncbsm, and ASA Theory Section, http://www.asanet.org/sections/theory.cfm. 

William S. Boyd School of Law, and International Law Society, and  UNLV Center for Democratic Culture will sponsor a public forum on “The Relationship between the Judiciary and Executive Branches of Government in Tajikistan and the United States.” The panel will feature judges from different regions of the Republic of Tajikistan and scholars from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The panel discussion will be facilitated by the Hon. Lloyd George, United States District Judge for the District of Nevada, Dmitri Shalin, Director of the UNLV Center for Democratic Culture, and Martin Geer, Professor, William S. Boyd School of Law. The Tajikistani delegation includes judges from Tajikistan Supreme Court, the Dushanbe City Municipal District Court, Zafarabad Provincial District Court, and Prosecutors form the Shohmansur Region, and Ghonchi Provincial District Court. Their visit to Las Vegas is sponsored by the Open World Rule of Law Program of the American Councils for International Education and is hosted by the Hon. Lloyd George. The event takes place on Wednesday, October 27, 2010, 12:15 – 1:30 p.m., Room 105, the Boyd School of Law’s Thomas & Mack Moot Court. Members of the law school community are cordially invited to take part in the panel.

UNLV Center for Democratic Culture, the William S. Boyd School of Law, and the International Law Society will sponsor a public forum on “The Relationship between the Judiciary and Executive Branches of Government in Ukraine and the United States.” The panel will feature judges from different regions of Ukraine and scholars from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The discussion will focus on judicial cooperation with, and independence from, other government structures in the Ukraine and United States. The panel discussion will be facilitated by the Hon. Lloyd George, United States District Judge for the District of Nevada, Dmitri Shalin, Director of the UNLV Center for Democratic Culture, and Martin Geer, Professor, William S. Boyd School of Law. The Ukranian delegation includes judges from the Supreme Court of Ukraine and the Appellate Courts. Their visit to Las Vegas is sponsored by the Open World Rule of Law Program of the American Councils for International Education and is hosted by the Hon. Lloyd George. The event takes place on Wednesday, November 19, 2009, 12:30 p.m., Room 105 at the Boyd School of Law. Members of the law school community are cordially invited to take part in the panel.

College of Fine Arts, College of Liberal Arts, and UNLV’s Center for Democratic Culture are cosponsoring a presentation by Russian artist Aleksander Sukhikh.  The event will take place on Wednesday, October 15 at 5 PM in the Artemus Ham Concert Hall lobby.  For the past six weeks, Mr. Sukhikh has been painting the American West and intends to swap out his Russian work currently on view in the Hayes-Healy Gallery of the Ham Concert Hall with his just completed interpretation of the Western United States.  The Alexander Sukhikh Exhibition has been curated by Dr. Robert Tracy.  Dr. Dmitri Shalin will provide Russian-English translation assistance during this October 15 discussion.

Center for Democratic Culture and William S. Boyd School of Law will sponsor a public forum on “The Relationship between the Judiciary and Executive Branches of Government in the Russian Federation and the United States.” The panel features judges from different regions of the Russian Federation and legal scholars from the Boyd School of Law. The discussion will focus on the mechanisms that insure independence of the judicial system in post-soviet Russia . The event takes place on Wednesday, October 24, 2007, 12:30 p.m., Room 105 at Boyd School of Law. The discussion is moderated by the Hon. Lloyd George, United States District Court Judge for the District of Nevada, and Dmitri Shalin, Director of the UNLV Center for Democratic Culture. The Russian delegation includes appellate, district, and municipal court judges in the Russian Federation. Their visit to Las Vegas is sponsored by the Open World Program of the American Councils for International Education and is hosted by the Hon. Lloyd George. Members of the campus and Southern Nevada community are cordially invited to take part in the panel.

Center for Democratic Culture and William S. Boyd School of Law are sponsoring a panel discussion on “The Independence and Impartiality of Ukrainian Courts.” The panel features judges from different regions of the Republic of Ukraine and legal scholars from the Boyd School of Law. The discussion will focus on the relationship between the judicial system and the other branches of the Ukrainian government. The event takes place on Wednesday, October 25, 2006, 3:00 p.m., Room 105 at Boyd School of Law. The discussion is moderated by the Hon. Lloyd George, United States District Court Judge for the District of Nevada, and Dmitri Shalin, Director of the UNLV Center for Democratic Culture. The Ukrainian delegation consists of appellate, district, municipal, and military court judges in the Republic of Ukraine. Their visit to Las Vegas is sponsored by the Open World Program of the American Councils for International Education and is hosted by the Hon. Lloyd George. Members of the campus and Southern Nevada community are cordially invited to take part in the panel.

Center for Democratic Culture and William S. Boyd School of Law sponsor a panel discussion on “The Separation of Powers in the Russian Political System: Constitutional Requirements and Legal Practice.” The panel features a delegation of judges representing different regions of the Russian Federation and legal scholars from the Boyd School of Law. The debate will focus on the current trends in the Russian legal system. The event takes place on Wednesday, November 9, 2005, 3:00 p.m., Room 105 at Boyd School of Law. The discussion is moderated by the Hon. Lloyd George, United States District Court Judge for the District of Nevada, and Dmitri Shalin, Director for the UNLV Center for Democratic Culture. The Russian delegation consists of judges heading various district and municipal courts in the Russian Federation . Their visit to Las Vegas is sponsored by the Open World Program of the American Councils for International Education, and it is hosted by the Hon. Lloyd George. Members of the campus and Southern Nevada community are cordially invited to take part in the forum.

Center for Democratic Culture, Honors College, Office of International Programs, Political Science and Foreign Language Departments cosponsor a public panel on the German election. The panel will take on Thursday, September 29, 2005, 7:00 p.m., Room 202 at Moyer Student Union, and it will feature Honorable Klaus Sommer, former German Ambassador in the U.S.; Professor John Mehrtens, Political Science John; and Professor Daniel Villanueva, Foreign Languages. Please come along if you have time and interest.

Center for Democratic Culture, Clark County School District, and the State Bar of Nevada are organizing the state-wide conference on civic education that will take place April 15-17, 2005, at the Canyon Springs High School and the Leadership and Law Preparatory Academy. The conference features a series of hands-on workshops on civic ed programs like “We the People,” “Trial by Peers,” “Kids Voting,” “Stick and Stones,” “Project Citizen,” and “Project VOICE.” The conference is geared to teachers, administrators, community activists, and it offers continuing ed credit and travel support for those who plan to attend. If you need more information or would like to attend, please contact Marcia Stribling at the State Bar of Nevada (tel. 702-317-1408).

Center for Democratic Culture and William S. Boyd School of Law sponsor a panel discussion on “Progress of Legal Reforms in Russia .” The panel features five Russian judges and American legal scholars who will discuss recent developments in the Russian Federation. The event takes place on Thursday, September 23, 2004, 10:30 a.m., Room 105 at Boyd School of Law, and it will be moderated by the Hon. Lloyd George, United States District Court Judge for the District of Nevada, and Dmitri Shalin, Director for the UNLV Center for Democratic Culture. The delegation of judges who head various district and municipal courts in the Russian Federation is sponsored by the Open World Program of the American Councils for International Education. Members of the campus and Southern Nevada community are cordially invited to take part in the forum.

Center for Democratic Culture and William S. Boyd School of Law and Las Vegas World Affairs Council will sponsor a public forum in connection with the upcoming visit to campus of Mikhail Gorbachev, the former president of the Soviet Union and the chief architect of the Russian perestroika. The forum, which is open to the public, will take place on Sunday, March 21, 2004, 6:00-7:30 p.m., UNLV Moyer Student Union, Room 203. The forum participants include Hon. Philip Pro, Chief Judge, US District Court, District of Nevada; Dina Titus, Senate Minority Leader and Professor of Political Science; Daniel Villanueva, Professor of Foreign Languages; and Paul Werth, Professor of History. Dmitri Shalin, Professor of Sociology and Director of UNLV Center for Democratic Culture will moderate the panel discussion. The forum title is “Did Perestroika Fail? The Fate of Democracy in Post-Gorbachev Russia.” The panel will explore nearly two decades of building a democratic society in Russia, focusing in particular on the question of what are the minimum requirements for a society to be called a democracy – politically, economically, and legally. The discussion will focus on the freedom of the press, the problems of advancing a market economy, and the pace of legal reforms in today’s Russia.

Center for Democratic Culture and William S. Boyd School of Law will sponsor a panel discussion on “Civil Society and Legal Reform in Russia.” The panel features five Russian judges and American legal scholars who will discuss recent developments in the Russian Federation. The event takes place on Thursday, October 23, 2003, 10:30 a.m., Room 105 at Boyd School of Law, and it will be moderated by the Hon. Lloyd George, United States District Court Judge for the District of Nevada, and Dmitri Shalin, Director for the UNLV Center for Democratic Culture. The delegation of judges who head various district and municipal courts in the Russian Federation is sponsored by the Open World Program of the American Councils for International Education. Members of the campus and Southern Nevada community are cordially invited to take part in the forum.

DC and Department of Foreign Languages present a movie "Brother" by the Russian director Sergei Bodrov Jr. The movie is in Russian with English subtitles. The screening takes place on Sunday, May 4, at 3 p.m., in Room 1225 of the UNLV Lied Library. The event is open to the public, faculty, and students. The following blurb on the movie appears on amazon.com:

Just as it did for Hollywood directors during the Depression – the era of Cagney and Raft – the gangster genre in the 1990s allows Russian filmmakers to deal with the political and personal issues of a devastated society, while paying due attention to action and drama. In Brother, Sergei Bodrov Jr. (the son of the director of Prisoner of the Mountains, in which he also stars) plays Danila, a pale young man from the provinces returning home from his military service. He brings nothing with him but an instinctive skill for violence – which he demonstrates when he wanders through a movie set and casually beats up the goons who have been sent to run him off. Heading for St. Petersburg, Danila hooks up with his admired older brother Viktor, now a highly paid hit man. When Viktor farms out a job to Danila, the younger brother proves to be the greater talent. He goes into business for himself, acquiring new clothes and a new mistress. But with new success comes new enemies; Danila learns to watch his back.